In My Darkest Hour
by Typhlosion8
Summary: It all started the day they caught Pikachu. From there, it was a downward spiral for me. I went from a Pokémon Trainer to... something much worse. I betrayed everyone, all for my one goal: Defeating the Pokémon Champion. But I was doing it for Team Rocket. Now, it's a race to stop Giovanni and save not only Kanto, but the whole world. (REWRITE, HIATUS)
1. Prepare For Trouble

**Hello to all readers, whether you're new to this story or a veteran reader! I'm Typhlosion8, and this is my rewrite of _In My Darkest Hour_. **

**This is a rewrite of a story I did,** ** _In My Darkest Hour_. I was nearly done with it, but I couldn't finish it. So, I'm rewriting it from scratch. The plot line will be similar, but I may shake a few things up to surprise everyone. I'm feeling good about this! So, without any more waiting, here's the first chapter of ****_In My Darkest Hour!_**

 **Disclaimer: Since this is the rewrite, I'm going to reuse this disclaimer as a tribute. So no, ****I do not own Pokèmon. I do own all the best parts of this story, and a chocolate bar. And if you sue me, that's all you'll get. And do you really want a melted KitKat?**

* * *

Prologue

 _The lights flickered weakly in the underground laboratory. The assistants were rushing around, trying their best to assist the scientists in whatever way they could, desperately hurrying to finish the experiment._

 _"Sir! It's ready now!" One lab helper exclaimed, handing a vial of pink fluid to the head scientist. The scientist took the vial from his assistant and reached for a sterilized syringe, filling it with the pink liquid._

 _Turning towards the caged Rattata nearby, he prepared to inject it. The creature had been caught easily at Route 1, asleep thanks to a bit of Sleep Powder. Now was the moment of truth._

 _Finding the carotid artery wasn't too hard, and the needle of the syringe sunk into it. The head scientist pushed the plunger down, and the liquid within it was emptied into the Rattata's bloodstream._

 _Within minutes, the Pokémon was awake, snarling and slamming itself into the bars of the cage they'd placed it in beforehand._

 _ **"Rattata!"** it called out violently. The scientist smiled._

 _"Contact Giovanni. Tell him it's ready."_

* * *

Kanto Seas, Kanto

Ash Ketchum looked over the railing of the boat he was on, a blank look on his face. The sky was clear and the sun shone down onto the sparkling waters below. It was another beautiful day in Kanto. Unlike Sinnoh's natural chill, the weather in Kanto was warm and comfortable, although not as humid as Hoenn was.

At the moment, Ash was currently contemplating an idea his friend, Gary Oak, had suggested to him. Gary was a trainer turned Pokémon Researcher. He had decided to stop fighting in the Pokémon League a while back, after Ash had defeated him in the Silver Conference in Johto.

He had called Professor Oak's laboratory after the end of the Sinnoh League. He was only calling so that he could send over his Pokémon from Sinnoh. He wanted to go home with only Pikachu by his side. His first Pokémon would understand how he was feeling, and would comfort him.

But instead of the Professor, he got Tracy on the other side, and the boy was happy to see him, and was also able to work the Pokémon transport device. As he sent over his team, Gary had appeared. He had been working at the lab with Professor Oak, and had been taking a break. His grandfather had gone to Viridian City for groceries, leaving Gary to watch over the lab.

The brunette had been grinning at the sight of his old rival. They greeted each other casually, and then Gary had brought up the Sinnoh League.

Flashback

 _"Ash, you were great at the last league! I can't believe that you took out a Darkrai. That Tobias was powerful, for sure."_

Ash grimaced. Tobias...

"Yeah," he replied though, faking a smile. "I never would have thought that I would get to the final four. My Pokémon worked hard!"

Gary nodded. _"So what are your plans now? Are you going off to a new region?"_

Ash shook his head. "No, I want to stay close to home."

 _"Why don't you travel the region and collect the Kanto badges again then? You got to the Top 4 in the Lily of the Valley Conference! This league should be a piece of cake. And you won't be far away from Pallet Town either."_

It sounded like a good idea, but the thought of challenging another league so soon was off putting.

"I don't know, Gary. I'll think about it for a bit."

End Flashback

So now he was thinking about Gary's suggestion. Pikachu, his best friend, crawled up his pant leg and vest to his shoulder, his tiny claws gripping the fabric. Ash smiled at the little mouse, and Pikachu made a cheerful noise as he scratched behind his ears.

 _"Attention all passengers. We have now arrived in Vermillion City. We will be stopping here for twenty minutes before departing back for Olivine City. If this is your stop, please be ready to depart the ferry. Thank you for choosing the S.S. Anne, and have a pleasant day."_

Grabbing his backpack off of the deck, Ash slung it onto his shoulders and sighed.

"Well, it's time to go home, buddy. Shall we?"

Pikachu nudged his trainer's head. "Chuuu!"

They went to the exit together, and stepped onto the dock. They were in Vermillion City. He could remember getting his Thunder Badge here. That was the day Pikachu refused to evolve.

"Remember this place, buddy?" he asked his Pokémon. Pikachu agreed, nodding his head.

"Pika Pikachu!"

Ash smiled slightly. His Pokémon was there for him, and he knew that whatever happened, he'd always be there for him.

"Chu Pi?" the Electric type asked him.

"I'm fine, Pikachu. Thanks for asking though." he replied.

As Ash took another step on the pavement, a familiar voice invaded his ears.

"Prepare for trouble, we're come from afar," Jessie shouted out.

"And make it double, because this motto's our best by far." James said smoothly.

Behind Ash was a huge Meowth-shaped hot air balloon. The smiling Meowth face made Pikachu growl in annoyance. But the trio didn't notice.

Ash rolled his eyes.

"Don't you guys ever give up?" he asked, bored. Team Rocket glared at him, and continued their motto.

"We followed you from Sinnoh with revenge on our minds," Jessie said.

James gave a smirk, pulling a rose out of nowhere. "And we made sure this time we didn't fall behind."

Meowth popped his head up from inside the basket, a shiny new contraption in his hands. He flashed his teeth winningly at Ash and Pikachu. With an evil grin, he pressed the only button on his remote control device, and a strange metal machine came out of the bottom of the balloon. Ash thought it looked like a cannon, and he was proved right when a thunderous explosion came from the machine along with a burst of black smoke, releasing a net that wrapped around Pikachu and pulled him off of Ash's shoulder and into the basket.

"We finally took Pikachu from you," the magenta haired woman said happily.

"And now we're heading to HQ." James added.

Ash jumped to grab his Pokémon, but missed, grasping only air. A crowd had gathered, but could only watch as the villains taunted the raven haired trainer\\.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket winning for once is an impressive sight!" Jessie said, giving Ash a mocking look.

"Surrender now, 'cause you'll lose this fight." James said, rhyming the words perfectly.

"Meowth, that's right!" the Scratch Cat Pokémon called out.

A flash of white light revealed a strange blue shape, and the Pokémon saluted.

"WOBBUFFET!"

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted. "Use Thunderbolt!"

Charging with electricity, the yellow mouse sparked before releasing hundreds of volts of lightning, dearly hoping with his whole heart that the idiots forgot to insulate the net and that he'd destroy their balloon and fall from the sky into his trainer's arms.

But they were useless against Team Rocket's technology. The electricity crackled along the insulated netting, and Pikachu cried out for help.

"I'm coming for 'ya, buddy!" Ash told him, and ran towards the Meowth balloon. Bending his knees, he managed a powerful leap, and caught onto the edge of the wicker basket.

Team Rocket cried out in fright, and Meowth jumped into action, unsheathing his claws and slicing at Ash's face with the sharp weapons. The teen cried out in pain, and his grip weakened. With a final hit, Ash lost his grip on the basket, and landed painfully on the hard pavement below.

As stars danced in his eyes and pain rushed through him, he watched as the Meowth balloon floated away into the distance, and followed it with his eyes for as long as he could before his vision faded away to black.


	2. The Movement Of Fate

Vermillion City Pokémon Centre

The orange-roofed building was surprisingly quiet for the time of day it was, not to mention that Vermillion was a seaside town and boats arrived there every day. It must have been Arceus giving them a break that day.

Nurse Joy was there, sitting in a chair she had behind her desk for days like these. _Makes me wish that I had become a human doctor instead sometimes..._

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the automatic doors of the Pokémon Centre sliding open to reveal an older teen, nearly adult, who couldn't be any older than 17, half-carrying another teenager. The older kid had dark red hair that was long and slightly messy, nothing in comparison to the younger person being half-dragged along.

"Nurse Joy, could you possibly offer some medical assistance to this kid?" the red haired teen asked, leaning the kid against a couch in the Centre's lobby. Nurse Joy's head was spinning at the sudden change of events. From peace and quiet to this?

"I can do my best, but what happened?" she said quickly, rushing from behind the counter.

"Would you believe me if I told you Team Rocket?" he replied, and Nurse Joy sighed. Team Rocket hadn't been heard of in Kanto for a few years, surprisingly. Many believed it was the work of Officer Jenny, others told rumours of the Champion himself dealing with them. Some darkly said that they might have retreated, biding their time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike again.

Nurse Joy didn't believe in such rumours. She had more important things to concern herself with than the whereabouts of a terrorist gang, like her job.

"Young man, you should know that Team Rocket is nothing but the whispers of troublemakers." she scolded. "Whether or not they still exist means nothing. Tell me what really happened. Was it a Pokémon accident?"

The teenager didn't answer, so Nurse Joy assumed that she was right, and he had been caught in his lie.

"Next time, tell the truth instead of trying to shock me. Saves both of us time."

She walked over to the couch that the other kid was on and began to check him over. He wasn't injured terribly, there wasn't any signs of burns or electrical damage from a Fire or Electric type, so she had to assume that it might have been a fight against a wild Pokémon, probably a Normal or Fighting type, since there wasn't any scales to show evidence of a Bug type .

"Were you there, or did you find him?" she asked, turning around again to face the older teen, but found herself talking to no one, because he'd vanished.

* * *

Ash found himself waking up on something soft.

 _Bed? Sofa?_

His eyes felt too heavy to open still. Why were they so heavy? His mind was slowly turning back on, reminding him of things in reverse.

 _I fell. Why did I fall?_

He tried to move a bit. His toes wiggled slightly, and he could feel the confinement of his sneakers keeping them in place. His legs could move slightly too, and he shifted them a little. He could feel the weight of his pants too. His eyes wouldn't open still.

 _There was a basket. I was in it- holding on to it. And there was a Meowth-_

 _Team Rocket!_

His eyes finally opened with horror as he tried to remember what happened. There was bright light and noises around him. He was in the Pokémon Centre.

 _He could see it in his mind, the way Team Rocket had popped up out of nowhere, the way he'd reached out for Pikachu, and jumped onto the wicker basket of their stupid hot-air balloon, but he couldn't hold on any longer after Meowth scratched furiously at his face with those claws, and then-_

Ash struggled to pull himself up, and moved his arms to help. The left one moved to push easily, but the right flared up in pain when he tried to push with it. His eyes, although slightly fuzzy, could see the bandage wrapped around it snugly to hold in in place. His entire head was throbbing, but his thoughts were rushing through his mind non-stop at a speed he almost couldn't keep up with.

 _PikachuisgoneTeamRockettookhimhesgoneIhavetofindhimPikachuIcantletyoudownwhereareyouIneedtofindyounowbeforeitstoolateTeamRocket-_

"You're awake! I was beginning to think you'd be asleep for a long time."

The light, angelic sound of Nurse Joy's voice broke his rapid thoughts, and his head snapped towards her face. He could almost imagine what his face must look like: worried and tired.

"The accident you were in wasn't too dangerous, but your wrist should be fine in a few days, it's just a light sprain. You'll probably feel sore for a while though, you've got a few nasty bruises-"

Ash unknowingly cut her off, his mind not hearing what she was saying, instead, he tried to speak.

"Pik-" he rasped, but started coughing. His throat was dry, but he tried again.

"Pikachu?" he asked her, his voice quieter than normal but the Nurse heard him.

"I haven't seen any Pikachu, it wasn't with you when you came in." she replied, slightly confused.

Ash nodded, then began to struggle again to get up, his legs moving closer to the edge of the couch so he could stand.

"I suggest staying put for a while longer, young man. You should rest for a little bit, and I can get you something to eat from the kitchens." Nurse Joy said, placing a hand on the leg he'd moved, almost as if she was _telling_ him, not suggesting.

Ash nodded again though, but then tried a different approach.

"Phone?" he asked her, and his left hand went to his ear, miming him holding a phone.

"Oh! You want to use the video phone? I think I can make an exception for you to make a call. Do you have a friend you're meeting up or something?"

Ash smiled, trying to convince her. Joy helped him remove the small blanket that had been placed over him, and he unsteadily got to his feet, following the directions Nurse Joy had given him.

The video phone was simple, different from the slightly more complex ones he'd seen in Sinnoh. He typed the Professor's number, his mind racing as he tried to think of what to say.

The phone rang three times before Gary Oak's face showed up on the screen, looking surprised.

" _Hey Ashy-boy, didn't expect to hear from you so soon. You're in Vermillion already?"_

Ash didn't say anything, lost in thought.

 _Who could he count on to get the job done?_

" _Hey Ash, you okay? Where's Pikachu, anyway?"_

Ash coughed once more, clearing his throat, before he looked straight at Gary, his face serious.

"Gary, I- I need you to help me..." he said slowly, trying to say each word as loudly as he could.

Gary looked confused. " _Ash, you don't sound too good. What do you need my help for?"_

Saying the words out loud would be the hardest part, but he had to get it over with.

"Team Rocket. They-" he had to stop, because his eyes were getting prickly.

 _Don't cry! You have to be strong or you'll never get Pikachu back!_

"They took Pikachu. I need you to send my Pokémon to me so I can get him back." he said, coughing a bit at the end of his sentence. Gary looked shocked.

" _You're serious? How did this happen? Do you need help finding him?"_

"No Gary, I have to do this myself. I have to."

* * *

 **Yeah, so this rewrite didn't go the way I expected. Finally got off my butt and wrote something. This might bring back my writing drive, at least, I hope. I've been in a rut for months now.**

 **~Ty8**


End file.
